Understanding the Widespread Applicability of Transformative Leadership

For too long, schools and other organizations have relied on what have come to be known as technical, rational, or functional approaches to leadership, stemming in the global north, from scientific management in the early 20th century. Schools have been hierarchically organized in the belief that only the “managers” were smart enough to know what is needed, with others (including teachers and students) needing to obey and comply with established regulations, curricular standards, and assessment tools. If we want more equitable, inclusive, and just outcomes, it is time for school leaders to reject the dominant scientific leadership paradigm and to employ a new paradigm, with new axiology, ontology, epistemology, and methodology focused on values, community, and cultures. Transformative leadership theory is described as an exercise of power and authority that begins with questions of justice and democracy. It critiques inequitable practices and offers the promise not only of greater individual achievement but of a better life lived in common with others. This article reviews some of the origins of transformative leadership theory, identifies some of the most common approaches and principles, and argues that by fundamentally reorienting leadership towards justice, democracy, and equity, transformative leadership theory provides the essential ethical and practical framework for education in a fractured world.